Bladerunner

Материал готовится, пожалуйста, возвращайтесь позднее

Voice 1:Hello, I’m Marina Santee.

Voice 2:And I’m Ruby Jones. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, now matter where in the world they live. Background voice

“On your marks!”

Voice 1:The man starting the race points his gun up towards the sky. Eight young men bend down. They carefully place their feet into the starting blocks. Their bodies are tense. “Get set - go!” The starter fires his gun. Immediately, the eight men push themselves out of the blocks and begin to run as fast as they can. A large crowd of people have gathered to watch the runners. They cheer and shout as the men power past them. And they see something unusual. The man is second place looks different from the other runners. He has no feet. Instead, he has long rounded pieces of metal. These metal pieces are attached to his knees. He crosses the finishing line just behind the winner. But the young man does not mind that he has lost the race. He believes that he has won something much more important. He has won people’s respect for him as a runner.

Voice 2:This young man’s name is Oscar Pistorius. Oscar is from South Africa. He was born with some bones missing from his legs. This meant that his legs could not develop in the right way. It also meant that Oscar would not be able to walk. He would have to spend his life sitting in a wheelchair. Oscar’s doctors said that they needed to remove the lower part of Oscar’s legs. This would help the other leg bones grow. After some time, Oscar’s parents agreed. Oscar was only one year old when the doctors operated on him.

Voice 1:However, removing the part of Oscar’s legs below the knee was a positive thing. It permitted the tops of his legs to develop normally. The time soon came for baby Oscar to learn how to walk. Doctors fitted him with two false legs. Soon, Oscar was able to move around as well as any other child with two complete legs. He would never know what having two whole, healthy legs felt like. But he did not feel limited in any way. In fact, the opposite was true! Oscar tried as many different sports as he could - the more active, the better!

Voice 2:Oscar’s desire was to play rugby. He dreamed of playing for one of the top South African teams. But when Oscar was fourteen [14] years old, that dream ended. Oscar badly injured his right knee in a rugby accident. His knee needed a lot of time to recover. So his doctors advised him to stop playing this dangerous sport. Instead, they suggested that he try a gentler sport, like running. Soon, Oscar found that he was a natural runner. After only two months, he ran in a one hundred [100] metres race. This race was especially for disabled runners like Oscar. The world record for this distance was twelve point two [12.2] seconds. Oscar ran the race in eleven point one [11.1] seconds. Everyone who saw him knew that he was someone special.

Voice 1:But how could Oscar run so fast on false legs? Well, engineers from Iceland were responsible for making Oscar’s running legs. They used carbon fibre. Carbon fibre is strong and light in weight. They shaped the carbon fibre into long, rounded pieces, called blades. The base of each blade has short metal spikes on it - just like normal running shoes. Oscar fits the top end of the blades onto his knees. And they help him to run like the wind!